Food Combining

What is food combining?

Food combining is based on an essential set of principles that can help you to maintain a healthy flowing digestive system. The idea behind proper food combinations is simply that different foods digest at different rates in the body using different enzymes and digestive acids. This means each food group requires it's own unique digestive environment in order to break down the food correctly and provide optimal nutrient absorption. For example, if faster digesting foods (such as fruit) are consumed with longer digesting foods, (such as grains or meat) the fruit will be quickly processed and ready to move on but will have to remain in the stomach as the food consumed with it continues to be processed. This is when fermentation of the faster digesting food begins which leads to digestive challenges. Improper food combinations can result in that sluggish feeling after eating, bloating, gas and loose of essential nutrients.

There are many great books written about proper food combinations and I would suggest learning a little more about this subject! Here are a few reccomendations...

The Complete Book of Food Combining by Kathryn Marsden

Food Combining Made Easy by Herbert Shelton

Proper Food Combining Works by Lee DuBelle

“Food combination takes into account the area and complexity of digestion of each food, to ensure it goes through your entire digestive system with ease” - Dr Wayne Pickering

What are the benefits of food combining?

Many people have experienced profoundly positive effects from practising correct food combining. From personal experience of practising food combining for over a year now, I have noticed many benefits and can definitely feel the difference after consuming an improper food combination.

Some of the benefits can include the following:

Better absorption of nutrients

Reduction or elimination of gas and bloating

Elimination of acid reflux or heart burn

Reduced or elimination of cravings

Flatter stomach

Increased energy after eating a meal

Key principles of proper food combining

There are some basic principles one must follow in order to practise proper food combining. Below you will find a chart which will easily display these principles and is also available as a printable PDF version for you to download.